Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Putting profits before patients?

A jury in Philadelphia has awarded Mary Daniel, 60, and her husband, Tom, $1.5 million in their lawsuit against the drug-maker Wyeth. Daniel developed breast cancer in 2001 after taking Prempro - which consists of the hormones oestrogen and progestin - to relieve hot flashes.

Her lawyer reportedly said that Wyeth knew of research linking the drug and cancer but put profits ahead of patients. The company, meanwhile, countered that Daniel had other risk factors for breast cancer, including a family history of the disease.

The case is the third Prempro-related lawsuit against Wyeth to be decided in the courts (the company won the first trial and a mistrial was declared in the second one). And I have no doubt in my mind we?ll be hearing the results of similar HRT lawsuits for some time.

All of these drug-related lawsuits make me think we?re not too far away from the day where you will have to sign a waiver before popping the simplest of pills.

While it was completely wrong for Wyeth to sit on their findings linking Prempro to breast cancer, I am a little curious as to just how strong the link was? It would also be interesting to learn how members of the jury were chosen. Many people think that these big drug companies are made out of money, but $1.5 million is a very high price. I would rather see the company spend money on educating the public about its drugs than give it all to one woman.

The devil is in the details here, as to the strength of the evidence linking HRT to cancer. Courts are put in the difficult position of having to make decisions before there is much scientific evidence to go on and hazard a guess as to which is more probably the case on given evidence. This exposure increases the cost-to-develop for new drugs. The disincentive helps preent drug-caused disease, but then it delays other drugs that can prevent premature death or improve quality of life. Tough choices; ones a court is ill-qualified to make.

It was more important for Wyeth, to keep rakeing in the money, than possibly saving lives. Prempro was the golden goose, and Wyeth had no intention to give up collecting billions of dollars each year from this product. They were acting like Ford (when all the publicity about the Explorer became public knowledge). The only way to get the message to these companies, is to take them to court and hold them accountable for their actions, (in this case , their inactions). Many people do not realize drug companies are funded, in part, by our tax dollars to develop new medications. After a medication has been approved by the FDA, pharmaceutical companies collect the financial rewards for many years. I'm rather suprised that Laura thinks it unfair to award $1.5 million to someone who has been harmed by this drug. I wonder if she is familiar with what this woman has gone through. I am. It sickens me to hear people act like this woman has hit the lottery, by being compensated for the physical, and emotional damage she has suffered. I know from personal experience how devastating it can be.

The problem with drugs is people! People have reactions to drugs and they vary from person to person. The crime committed by the drug company (& it is a crime as drugs can potentially kill) is by failing to alert doctors to the potential risks. If the doctor is aware then he/she can discuss the potential side effects of the drug with the patient to allow them to make an informed decision. If Daniel had been aware that she could have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than suffering hot flushes (for which there are natural products such as soya that can help and are unlikely to be mentioned) then that would be her choice. However, in the highly litigious world of the US where the courts allow a woman to sue a company when she hurt herself slipping on a wet floor when she had just that moment spilt her drink there, I think that it says it all.

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